Apple patent reveals iPhone as game controller

Apple has filed a patent that may end the first-world plague of hunting for your remote.

The system described is similar to the recently unveiled Microsoft SmartGlass, or even Apple's own Apple TV AirPlay tech, and allows a user to take control of a myriad of electronic devices through another device.

Though many possibilities were named such as laptops and tablets, the iPhone was singled out as the focus of the patent.

The system seems to be based on software rather than hardware, and works by detecting the frequency at which communications take place between a device and its controller. With that established, the system allows the chosen device to act as a proxy controller.

In other words, no more worry about which remote is for the TV, and which for cable.

But the system doesn't stop there, and the patent clearly shows an iPhone being used to interface with a game system.

Endearingly enough, the chosen control layout is for a NES, which is famous for, among other things, not having wireless controls.

The product is still in a conceptual stage, and there is no word of when we might see a release.